


Hairy legs

by Creedmes



Category: Original Work
Genre: Arachnophobia, Flash Fiction, Gen, One-Shot, Original Characters - Freeform, Original Story - Freeform, Tarantula - Freeform, stuck 'babysitting' a tarantula
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-28 18:18:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17187995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Creedmes/pseuds/Creedmes
Summary: What happens when a guy named Elliott who's an arachnophobe is stuck watching his friend's pet tarantula for a few minutes?





	Hairy legs

**Author's Note:**

> This was a piece of flash fiction I had to write for my college creative writing class back in the spring of 2018. I don't expect a lot of people to read it since it's an original work and there isn't a fandom involved at all. I just wanted to share this because I was tired of seeing it sit in my google drive without serving a real purpose other than trying to get a grade. It's roughly edited after a few months of not even looking at it, so I apologize for any mistakes or confusion. I was bored and wanted to share something and realized this could be a good thing to post
> 
> I'm also on [tumblr](https://creedmes.tumblr.com) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/creedmes)

The little ball of fear walked tentatively around the tabletop, searching for an escape plan. Elliott made sure Angie’s pet never found its way to the edge of the table by reached a hand out to block its path. He was scared the terrified tarantula would fall to the floor and lose itself underneath a pile of clothes or behind a piece of furniture if it was too close to the edge. How he’d try to explain to Angie that the spider just . . . fell off would easily guarantee him a slap to the back of the head.

The task she gave him seemed simple, but having to watch the nightmare skitter back and forth caused a chill to run up Elliott’s spine out of instinct. Back and forth. Up and down. Horizontally and vertically. Elliott frowned down at the creature while he scooted himself backward until he hit the back of the chair. He didn’t want to be too close to such a thing.

The tarantula tripped over its own legs and picked itself up before continuing the pattern of finding a way to vanish whenever Elliott stopped looking. But he wasn’t going to let something as hideous as Angie’s pet get away from him.

When it stood still on the tabletop, Elliott watched as the tarantula’s fangs shifted and nestled close to its maw. Anyone would say that the tarantula that walked across the table could be dangerous and needed to be secured in a cage. It was a display creature after all; it shouldn’t have the free range that it does now. Elliott wondered if such a creature could feel stress. He wouldn’t doubt it if it was nervous or upset that it wasn’t in its comfortable cage.

Its little feet never made a noise when it stepped down and lifted back up when the creepy-crawly began moving again, slowly and more cautious this time. All of those legs moved with a stumble, like it wasn’t used to controlling all eight legs. Elliott withheld a snicker by clapping a hand over his mouth when he thought about how graceless Angie’s precious pet was. He doesn’t want to startle it with a chuckle or even a simple inhale of breath. And if he was being honest with himself, he did feel a little bad for it. It acted like it wasn’t used to so much room. Had it been locked up in a small cage and never got to roam around and stretch? He wasn’t sure and didn’t want to think about it too much.

Quiet as always, it made sure to sneak around carefully so it wouldn’t alert anyone of its presence. This tarantula, a female named Kaiko who he should acknowledge the name of, was cunning and tactful when she wanted to be. Kaiko hunkered down and appeared deep in thought. Elliott wanted to know if Kaiko planned to catch him by surprise if he turned away for a second. What if there was a noise from behind him, and when he spun around to check, the tarantula could take that as her means of escape. Kaiko could easily disappear much like how Angie seemed to do when she left to fold and put away her laundry.

Elliott wanted to kill Angie when she said she’d be right back, leaving him to watch Kaiko for her. If Angie wanted him to watch her pet, she should have at least kept her in a cage where he didn’t have to be plastered to the back of his chair out of fear. He hated arachnids. He knew Kaiko knows he’s scared of her because Angie told him not to let her know he’s scared. Goosebumps prickled on his arms and Elliott rubbed them with both hands, too nervous to blink with Kaiko staring right at him. Why did she have to be watching him like she was waiting for her moment to shine and vanish?!

So many eyes scanned and shifted, seeking a weakness somewhere in her current surrounding. When Kaiko wasn’t calculating where to wander, she stayed put and observed patiently. Elliott thought she wouldn’t have to worry about losing sight of her prey; Elliott should be worried about losing sight of Kaiko. Eight little black orbs shined like glossy marbles when the overhead light reflected in her penetrating eyes.

“Don’t be silly,” Angie had said before leaving him alone. “Her eyesight is terrible. If anything, she’ll just see you as a blurry blob at best. So long as you don’t scare her with sudden movements, you’ll both be fine.” When she had left them together in this room, Elliott remembered how his face paled and how sweat started to form on his back. He didn’t know how Kaiko felt about this, but he knew he was  _ not _ happy to be here right now.

Elliott blinked once, twice, and a few times more. Angie’s knowledge of her pet should be comforting since she seemed to know her pet best, but he’s only letting his nerves get to him every time he thought about how vicious a creature such as Kaiko could pretend to be. Scratching his arms left marks when he thought about how he’d wake up in bed as a child, terrified of finding something as simple as a house spider chilling in the corner of his bedroom. His irrational fear made no sense but his strong dislike of arachnids couldn’t be snuffed out and reasoned with. He just  _ hated  _ them without any reason.

He decided to keep his mind on Kaiko for now, who stayed put in the center of the table. Elliott saw how she kept perfectly still, and he had to wonder how she moved with so many legs. Kaiko’s surely a spectacle of a creature for having eight legs, and he’s honestly surprised and confused as to why her eyesight would be terrible compared to his. If she had eight eyes, wouldn’t that mean she had better sight? It didn’t matter because Elliott still thought that eight eyes was too many for such a creature.

Before he thought about using his voice to ask the tarantula himself—which he believed to be a stupid idea—Elliott realized he and Kaiko had reached a stalemate in their waiting for Angie to return from doing her laundry.

Standing in front of him, he swore Kaiko blinked all of her eyes and turned herself into a statue. She was waiting. Stalking. Preying. What did it matter? If Elliott took his eyes off her, she’d disappear and then he’d be forced to search for the missing tarantula that stared him down with no tell to what she might be planning. Elliott knew that Angie wouldn’t be pleased if her “precious baby” found itself lost in the small room somewhere or God forbid hurt herself.

Neither of them moved. They watched each other. Someone had to move first so the world didn’t halt and freeze them in place. Elliott felt his throat tighten and an audible gulp made him self-aware of how loud he was being. Kaiko watched him and he watched her. She didn’t make any noise, and she seemed to judge him for breaking their unsettling silence. He glared at her for judging him when  _ he _ was the one who should be nervous.

Now he felt that he gave away information Kaiko’s now analyzing to take him down. Can she feel his heart hammering in his throat? Sense the rush of blood in his veins? Or the frantic, incoherent thoughts of how he planned to get the hell out of this situation when Angie returned? Can Kaiko even see him with her terrible eyesight or was that just Angie just saying things to calm him down?

Elliott felt a wave of heat overcome him, and a grimace pulled down the corners of his lips. He shook his head around to stop thinking about tarantulas, spiders, and anything sneaky and quiet. If he kept thinking about creepy-crawlies like Kaiko, he’ll feel the familiar itch of phantom legs climbing up his back and tickling his neck. Sudden movements might scare her, and that’s something he didn’t want to do.

They both refused to move because they’re both scared of each other. How could something so small be so intimidating? Elliott shook his head again, frowning still and slowly crossed his arms over his chest.

“Hey!”

The voice was loud and feminine. Elliott had been resting against the back of the chair and felt cornered. There was no way Kaiko spoke to him. It was just Angie, the tarantula’s owner. Elliott pouted because Angie freaked him out, and he watched for Kaiko to give any sign of initiating a flight response. She didn’t seem too bothered by her owner’s return.

She didn’t move around to wag an imaginary tail to let her owner know she was proud to see her. Kaiko stayed in place with all of those hairy legs tucked in close like she’s getting ready for a nap. All eight eyes were trained on Elliott. Watching. Waiting. Staring. Innocent.

“How’s my little bundle of joy doing?”

Elliott watched as Angie came up to the table and scooped up the tarantula in both of her hands with patience and care. Lifting both cupped hands to her face, Angie nuzzled the butt end of Kaiko and giggled as the hair tickled her cheek. Kaiko didn’t move or appear to enjoy her embrace. Elliott wondered if Kaiko cared at all.

“How’s my baby doing? How was she?”

“ _ She _ was fine,” Elliott said. “Next time you need to go off and do something, put her back in her cage and leave her there. You know I hate spiders.”

“She’s just a tarantula,” Angie told him with a calm voice. She lifted her face away from Kaiko and asked, “Why are you so scared of a little bundle of love like my Kaiko? How many times do I have to tell you she’s more scared of you than you are of her?”

Besides Angie’s face being pulled away from cuddling Kaiko’s rear end, nobody moved for a second. Uprooting himself from his chair in a wave of suppressed panic, Elliott swallowed a breath before finding the will to stand and walk himself out of the room. No way was he going to be left alone with a ball of hairy fear watching him and waiting for a chance to disappear. Kaiko wasn’t a flight risk, but he definitely was. So long as Angie was around, she could keep Kaiko on a faux leash so she couldn’t get lost and embed herself deeper into Elliott’s unreasonable fear of arachnids.

Eight black eyes followed Elliott out of the room. The need to scratch his skin was great enough that he dug his nails into his own flesh, moving his hands up and down his arms until his nails left white marks that immediately turned red from irritation. The tarantula’s front legs pretended to scratch her face to copy him.

Neither of them liked each other. Elliott wondered if Kaiko didn’t like him because she didn’t know if he was a blob or a friend of Angie’s. He doesn’t dwell on the thought while he left Kaiko alone with Angie.


End file.
